Rationale: Autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) is a special type of chronic pancreatitis, which is rarely associated with pseudocyst.
Patient concerns: A 48-year-old man complained of a recurrent upper abdominal pain in our hospital.
Diagnoses: A cystic mass of size 4 × 3 cm in his pancreatic tail was found by computed tomography. The concentrations of serum carbohydrate antigen19-9 (81 U/mL) and serum immunoglobulin G4 (181 mg/dL) were elevated.
Interventions: The patient received partial pancreatectomy with splenectomy and partial esophagectomy.
Outcomes: Further histopathological examination revealed a pseudocyst, significant lymphoplasmatic infiltration, and fibrosis in the pancreas and esophagus. We report a rare case of AIP complicated with a pancreatic pseudocyst and invasion of lower esophagus.
Lessons: Our study demonstrated that surgical therapy should be considered for the refractory AIP complicated with a pancreatic pseudocyst and invasion of lower esophagus.